Villar defends DAR budget, assures land distribution

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) has vowed to complete the distribution of 161,000 hectares of land to agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) in the next three years, according to Senator Cynthia Villar.

Villar sponsored and defended the DAR’s proposed budget for the coming fiscal year during Monday’s resumption of the Senate plenary debate on the 2025 national budget.

“In less than three years,” Villar said when asked by Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros about the agency’s timeline for the completion of the distribution of land to the intended beneficiaries.

She noted that the agency distributed 61,000 hectares to ARBs this year.

“So, this is far from the reports that the DAR would take another 47 years to complete the distribution?” Hontiveros asked.

In response, Villar jokingly remarked, “That’s too much. He said that would happen over his dead body,” referring to Conrado Estrella III, the current DAR secretary.

Bonds released soon

Hontiveros also inquired about the agency’s proposed budget for the landowners’ compensation amounting to P6 million.

According to Villar, the fund allocated for this line item is a “reserved amount in case there are any problems that may arise.”

“The agency has P520 million in unsettled payments for the lands they acquired in 2014. So, every year, they pay these landowners little by little,” she said.

Concerned about a possible delay in the payment to these landowners, Hontiveros asked about the agency’s plan to settle the debt.

“They [DAR] talked to the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Finance about this. They said they would issue a bond to settle these unpaid claims,” Villar said.

“They will issue the bond probably next year,” she added.